Bush Justice Department Goes After Another Democratic Lawyer

Ironically, the investigation first focused on Black following Ochoa's conviction at his 2003 trial in Miami. But authorities dropped their interest in Black and shifted to Kuehne, who became the target because his buffer-like role insulated Ochoa's defense attorney from any criminal liability for accepting the fees.

When Ochoa wanted to retain Black in 2002, the defendant had no legitimate money to pay the lawyer. Black also wanted assurances that his client's money was clean.
In turn, Ochoa and his family sold off some alleged pre-drug trafficking property, including prized Paso Fino horses and livestock from their Colombian ranch and real estate holdings.

Black hired Kuehne to scrutinize the transactions and he deemed them legitimate. But FBI and IRS agents discovered the sales were to cartel associates or straws, which in the eyes of the government made the proceeds dirty, several law enforcement sources said.
Before Ochoa's trial, Kuehne had met with federal prosecutors in Miami to discuss the controversial fee issue in the hope of creating a ''zone of comfort'' -- although they never agreed to give him a stamp of approval for Ochoa's payments to Black. At one point, U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore considered appointing a public defender to resolve the problem -- but Black eventually stepped in with Kuehne's blessing of the payments.

In the Ochoa case, sources familiar with the probe said both federal and Colombian investigators have traced the source of his family's sales, determined the proceeds came from dirty money and that Kuehne should have uncovered it before he moved the money through trust accounts to Black. Under one money laundering statute, a lawyer cannot approve or accept legal fees from a client if the attorney knows the payments are from criminal proceeds such as drug trafficking. Congress, however, made an exemption for lawyers when there is uncertainty about the source of the proceeds -- an exemption the Justice Department has never acknowledged.

Under another law, it is a crime to launder dirty money for the purpose of furthering a criminal activity or to conceal the source of the money. A key factor: the congressional exemption for lawyers does not apply to this statute.
Under either statute, prosecutors have to prove Kuehne was a ''knowing and willful participant'' in the alleged money laundering activity by authorizing Ochoa's legal payments to Black.

The investigation into Kuehne -- along with two Colombian suspects named in the indictment -- was handled by the Justice Department in Washington because of a conflict of interest in the U.S. attorney's office in South Florida.

Black stepped in to represent Ochoa in 2002. Black and the three other lawyers retained Kuehne to research Ochoa's sale of family assets to determine if the proceeds were legitimate for paying legal fees.
Kuehne, with the help of a Colombian accountant, lawyer and others, researched the Ochoa family's alleged pre-drug trafficking holdings -- including ranch lands, breeding horses and cattle. He visited with Ochoa family members in Colombia, where they auctioned some of those assets to suspected cartel associates, according to several law enforcement sources.

After reviewing the sale and proceeds, Kuehne assured Black and the other defense lawyers that their client's money was clean.

Kuehne's indictment, which had been sealed since late October, shocked many of his peers in South Florida's legal community because he is widely known as a brainy lawyer with the utmost integrity. He is past president of the Dade County Bar Association and a member of the Florida Bar Board of Governors.

''He's a leader in the legal community, he's the epitome of professionalism and he's an ethics guru,'' said attorney Ervin Gonzalez, a former Dade Bar president who has served on the Board of Governors alongside Kuehne. ``Moreover, he is so detailed, thorough and complete, that I'm sure, if he has given a legal opinion, it is well founded.

``He is the last person in the world I would think would be charged with this crime. Frankly, I don't believe he's capable of committing such a crime.''

On Thursday, a group of local lawyers planned to go to federal magistrate court in Miami in a show of support for Kuehne, who faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. ''Ben is a mentor to half of the lawyers in Miami,'' said David O. Markus, current president of the South Florida Federal Bar Association, who publishes a blog on the legal community. ''His character is beyond reproach. If you had to pick the person least likely to have done something wrong -- even something as minor as jaywalking -- Ben would be at the very top of the list.'' Jeffrey Weiner, a Miami attorney and a past president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, said he was ''deeply disheartened'' that the Justice Department would go after such an ``honorable lawyer.''

''I cannot help but wonder whether Ben's liberal, Democratic politics has something to do with this,'' Weiner said. ``Why isn't this U.S. attorney's office standing up to the Justice Department in Washington? What has he done wrong? I think it's absolutely terrible.''

Federal prosecutors face a formidable challenge in proving the case against Kuehne. They will have to prove that Kuehne knew Ochoa's money came from the sale of family assets to drug-trafficking associates -- or that he avoided that knowledge through ``deliberate ignorance.''